Reply #18: Four hurt in Madrid airport bomb, caller says ETA [View All]

MADRID (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded at Madrid's international airport injuring four people on Saturday after an anonymous warning by telephone and a second call claiming it was the work of Basque rebels ETA, Spanish authorities said.

Passengers at the ultra-modern Terminal Four said the departure hall filled with smoke after the explosion in a nearby parking lot which could mark the end of a ceasefire declared by ETA in March after four decades of armed struggle for Basque Country independence.

The bomb exploded at about 9 a.m. (0800 GMT), causing minor injuries to four people including two police officers and a taxi driver, emergency services said, and sending a huge pall of smoke over the terminal at Barajas Airport.

While witnesses said they were evacuated after the explosion, authorities received the first warning at about 8 a.m. (0700 GMT) after a man with a Basque accent called Basque traffic authorities to warn them of a bomb in a purple Renault Traffic van in a roofed parking area.

Shortly after, a separate caller to emergency services said the bomb had been planted by ETA, a spokesman for the Basque regional government said. (...)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061230/ts_nm/spain_explosion_dc_5